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Gift Wrap Organizer Toolbox

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Submitted by Ana White on Mon, 12/06/2010 - 20:21
Difficulty
Beginner
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Bring wrapping paper dispensing to the tabletop, while keeping essentials like ribbon and tape handy and organized. holds up to four rolls of wrapping paper and an abundance of ribbons and other essentials. Easy to carry handle. Easily stows on a closet shelf.

Before I became a mom, I loved to wrap gifts.  I would sometimes wrap gifts in several different layers of complimenting paper, neatly tie real bows, and hand make gift tags.  Then, Grace came.  And wrapping gifts became a chore.

Because there was just no extra time.  And there's alot more to gift wrapping than just wrapping gifts.  For one, all the bows and whistles can be quite spendy, so you want to recycle bags and trimmings whenever possible.  And you've got to neatly store wrapping paper rolls in such a manner that you can easily dispense it.  And ribbons . . . I won't even go there.  Well, I will . . . in a minute.

So I thought long and hard, drew many different designs, some wall mounted, some with wheels, and just could not figure out the perfect way to store all the gift wrapping essentials.  On the wall didn't make the most sense because you can't just tuck on the top shelf of the closet or with the rest of Christmas on New Year's.  And it's not always easy to get the right amount of wrapping paper off a wall mounted system.  And sometimes you just gotta get down on the floor to wrap a large gift - would be nice to have your tape and scissors handy.  Plus, there was no good spot for bags and tissue paper and gift tags in a wall system.  So I thought some more, tried some carts, didn't love the cost of a cart and the vertical storage of a cart . . . and finally, it just came to me.  Gift wrapping deserves a tool box.

And twenty minutes later, we have a gift wrapping tool box!  The pictures do not do it justice, everyone one (particularly the moms) stop and marvel at this one, thinking of all the possibilities.  You can hang with standard peg board hangers ribbons and wrapping paper and tape and gift tags and anything else you can think of on the inside and the outside of the box.

You can even dispense your ribbon through the peg board holes.  We are so happy with this system that I'm going out to the garage to make a few more as hostess gifts and a few smaller ones as arts and crafts centers for the kids, replacing the gift wrap with craft paper rolls (otherwise known as freezer paper).

Dimensions
Fits standard 32" Rolls

Preparation

Shopping List

Peg Board
3/4″ wood dowels, 36″ long
1 – 1×8, six feet long
2″ screws
wood glue and finishing supplies
Pegboard Hooks

Cut List

2 – 1×8 @ 14″
1 – 1×8 @ 33″ (for 32″ wide wrapping paper rolls)
you can also add 1x8s @ 7″ as dividers
1 – 3/4″ dowel @ 34 1/2″ (handle)
Additional 3/4″ dowels for wrapping paper spools

Tools
Tape Measure
Speed Square
Pencil
Hammer
Safety Glasses
Hearing Protection
Drill
Jigsaw
Power Sander
Drill Bit Set

Instructions

Step 1

Cut the ends

Round the corners off ( I used a coffee can) and drill a 3/4″ hole in the center for your handle. Sand the edges now, with the two ends sandwiched together with clamps. It’ll be eaiser now than later.

Step 2

Bottom

Now just screw the ends to the bottom. You should be into this one about ten minutes now.

Step 3

Sides

Now the pegboard. Just screw it on, along the bottom too. You can go up higher if you like.

Step 4

Handle

Now just thread the handle through and glue it in place.

Step 5

Finishing Instructions
Finish Used
No fancy finish on this one – just two coats of paint with primer in it in Valspar High Gloss Red Premium (off the shelf premixed color).
Project Type
shelves
Home DIY
Room
storage and organization
Craftroom
Kids and Toys
Style
Cottage Style Furniture Plans
Children's and Kid's Room Furniture and Toy Plans

Comments

nightowl_72 (not verified)

Tue, 12/07/2010 - 01:18

Wow Ana you read my mind! I was just thinking last week that a wall mounted unit would not be practical for me but needed something that I could carry around. Perfect for sitting on the floor in front of late night Christmas Eve carols while wrapping all those last minute gifts well into the night.

Thank you!

April Nickloy (not verified)

Tue, 12/07/2010 - 01:54

I have been waiting on the rubbermaid gift wrap organizer to show up at the store.... This is BETTER! I can't wait to make it! I still need somewhere to store all my extra rolls. I bought out the store last year after Christmas (75% off). I am going to make one for my daycare too :)
Thanks Ana!

Sheela (not verified)

Tue, 12/07/2010 - 04:09

This is great! You can add even more functionality if you add a second, thinner dowel several inches under the handle. If you don't glue that one in, you can put ribbon spools right on the thin dowel and have even more space in the box area for bows, etc. Very nice design Ana!

lyndyjo (not verified)

Tue, 12/07/2010 - 04:39

Or you could put a small dowel sideways through 2 holes of the pegboard to hold ribbon. Maybe some sort of removable caps on the end so it doesn't come out.

Liara (not verified)

Tue, 12/07/2010 - 06:36

This is so totally brilliant!!! It's so simple, but so perfect! Pulling the ribbons through the holes of the pegboard? Genius!!! I totally need to make one of these, if for nothing more than to hold spools of the thin ribbon for curling.

jess (not verified)

Tue, 12/07/2010 - 12:14

Tension Curtain rod my girls. That would be the cherry on top of this awesomeness. I think that I would paint it a neutral color and maybe make it a little taller so that it could store more paper rolls.

The only thing that could bake this better would be if it had a finger to hold the ribbon down when I was tying a bow. LOL

Loni (not verified)

Tue, 12/07/2010 - 15:39

You are freaking amazing! I'm so making one of these for my grandmother! (She's always saving ribbon's and bow's every christmas, this would make it easy to keep her stuff together!)

Lynn (not verified)

Wed, 12/08/2010 - 02:18

Very cool idea. Will have to make this for my future (will build myself thanks to your site) craft room.

kate @ www.bro… (not verified)

Fri, 12/10/2010 - 06:09

Hey Ana. I started building this but I made it 12 in tall instead of 14 with the pegboard 6 in high instead of 7 just so I could make 2 of them out of one 2x4 pedboard. Could I use a 1/2 dowel instead of a 3/4 in one for the handle or is it a weight issue? Thanks.

Fawn (not verified)

Fri, 12/17/2010 - 08:23

Built it! and a little one for a friend. I used smaller dowels, from my cake supplies and clothes pins for the ribbon dispenser. It was a bit pricey to buildthe big one, around $40, but made the second out of scraps. So two for the price of one, I guess!C:\Users\Rueckerts PC\Pictures\2010-12-17\158.JPG

Cherie H (not verified)

Sun, 12/04/2011 - 21:09

I've long dreamed of a gift wrapping station and realized when I moved into my new apartment that I could accomplish my dream. The only issue was implementing my dream. I'll be using my kitchen island and installing the pegboard with all the supplies inside the cabinet, so I can use it year-round. Hopefully I'll have it in place in no time with pics to show it off!

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